Purdue, West Lafayette dedicate entrepreneurship hub near campus
November 21, 2014
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Purdue and West Lafayette officials dedicate the new location of the Anvil, a startup hub to help Purdue and community innovators with entrepreneurial activities. The Anvil is located at 320 North St. in West Lafayette. From left are: Chandler Poole, director of development for West Lafayette; Grant Gumina, Purdue student leader of the Anvil; John Dennis, mayor of West Lafayette; Prahasith Veluvolu, Purdue student winner of the startup competition "The Boiler;" and Greg Deason, vice president of the Purdue Foundry. |
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – The Anvil, a community co-working space and business incubator, opened for business this week in its new space at 320 North St. in West Lafayette.
The entrepreneurial hub will provide Purdue and area community innovators with co-working space, networking and professional development opportunities.
Anvil student leader Grant Gumina, a senior in Purdue's College of Engineering, said a space closer to Purdue's campus will greatly benefit the Anvil.
"The previous Anvil space was about a 20-minute walk from campus, and this new location brings us closer to the campus and community," he said. "We've always thought of ourselves as being the epicenter of hacker, startup and creative culture at Purdue and in West Lafayette. Now we're actually in the epicenter and will be able to offer a lot of great resources like learning and networking events for the students and community. All those will definitely be taken to the next level."
John Dennis, mayor of West Lafayette, spoke of the importance of the partnership between West Lafayette and Purdue.
"With this new location and larger space, the Anvil will be able to expand its program to include community entrepreneurs, and that will bring West Lafayette and Purdue entrepreneurs together, providing stronger collaborations," he said. "The Anvil also will have a positive effect on the long-term economic potential for West Lafayette."
Greg Deason, vice president of the Purdue Foundry, an entrepreneurship and commercialization hub in Discovery Park's Burton D. Morgan Center for Entrepreneurship, said the project supports Purdue's strategic goal of promoting innovation and job creation in Indiana.
"The economic ecosystem that is continuing to develop through these types of initiatives and partnerships is helping a tremendous number of inventions coming out of Purdue," he said. "The programs we have in place and the resources including the Anvil, Purdue Foundry and Office of Technology Commercialization are all working together for an end result of supporting new startups."
Other speakers at the event included Chandler Poole, director of development for West Lafayette, and Prahasith Veluvolu, Purdue student winner of the startup competition "The Boiler," which was presented by the Anvil earlier this year.
To help the Anvil, West Lafayette and the Purdue Foundry invested in its creation and move. Purdue Foundry provided seed funding to establish the Anvil and the West Lafayette Redevelopment Commission approved a two-year lease of $200,000 for 10,085 square feet of office space in the new location to support the expanded use for community entrepreneurs.
About Purdue Research Foundation
The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Established in 1930, the foundation accepts gifts; administers trusts; funds scholarships and grants; acquires property; protects Purdue's intellectual property; and promotes entrepreneurial activities on behalf of Purdue. The foundation manages the Purdue Foundry, Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization, Purdue Research Park and Purdue Technology Centers. The foundation received the 2014 Incubator Network of the Year from the National Business Incubation Association for its work in entrepreneurship. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org
Writer: Hillary Henry, 765-588-3586, hkhenry@prf.org
Purdue Research Foundation contact: Cynthia Sequin, 765-588-3340, casequin@prf.org
Sources: Greg Deason, 765-588-5254, gwdeason@prf.org
John Dennis, 765-775-5100, mayor@city.west-lafayette.in.us
Grant Gumina, youmom@purdue.edu
